Corsair Launches Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock
by Anton Shilov on September 6, 2018 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Corsair
- Thunderbolt 3
- Elgato
Corsair on Thursday introduced its first Elgato-branded miniature Thunderbolt 3 dock. The product has two 4Kp60-capable display outputs, a USB Type-A port, and a Gigabit Ethernet connector.
The minimalistic Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock is aimed primarily at owners of Apple’s latest MacBook Pro laptops who need an essential set of ports while on the go. The Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock has one DisplayPort 1.2 output, an HDMI 2.0 output (with HDCP support), a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port (5 Gbps, up to 1.1 A), and a GbE port.
Being very compact, the Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock weighs 125 grams (4.4 ounces), looks like a big pack of mints, and comes with a foldable 12 cm (4.7 inch) cable that can be quickly hidden when not in use as well as easily managed when in use.
When it comes to compatibility, the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock will work with Apple’s macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later as well as with Microsoft’s Windows 10 and later. Unfortunately Corsair does not disclose which Thunderbolt 3 controller it uses for its TB3 Mini Dock – whether they're using Alpine Ridge or the new USB 3-compatible Titan Ridge – however the exclusion of any mention of USB 3 compatibility in the official specifications strongly points to the tradtional Alpine Ridge, making this a true TB3-only dock.
Meanwhile, to make the Elgato Thundebolt 3 Mini Dock more attractive to owners of various Apple devices, the product comes with the Elgato Dock Utility for macOS that enables high-power USB support and easy ejection of storage devices attached to the dock.
Corsair’s Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock will hit the market shortly. In the U.S. it will cost $149, while in other countries prices will be different.
Related Reading:
- Corsair Takes Over Gaming, Video Capture, & Docking Assets from Elgato
- StarTech Launches ‘Affordable’ Thunderbolt 3 ‘Mini Docks’: USB-A, GbE, DP or HDMI
- StarTech’s New Adapter Brings eSATA Storage to Thunderbolt 3 PCs
- StarTech Launches Thunderbolt 3 USB Hub with 3 USB 3.1 Controllers & Power Delivery
- StarTech's Thunderbolt 3 to Dual 4Kp60 Display Adapters Now Available
- Promise Launches TD-300 9-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock: GbE, HDMI, USB 3.0, TB3 Charging & More
- OWC Launches 13-Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock: GbE, USB-A, SD Card, mDP, FireWire & More
- StarTech Unveils Dual-Display Thunderbolt 2 Docking Station with 12 Ports
- AKiTiO Displays Thunderbolt 3 to 10GBase-T Adapter
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DanNeely - Thursday, September 6, 2018 - link
Only 1 USB port, because nothing says classy like having to daisy-chain extra boxes to compensate for deficiencies in the base hardware. *eyeroll*HStewart - Thursday, September 6, 2018 - link
Thunderbolt can surely handle extra ports - I have TB3 connect with multiple display ports - a bunch of USB ports and even USB-C - so it is NOT limitation of ThunderboltI believe they only have one USB port - to reduce size and cost.
AdditionalPylons - Friday, September 7, 2018 - link
I assume DanNeely was referring to deficiencies in the base hardware of the Macbook, not the dock.Anyhow the cost difference between having one and two USB ports is negligible (I would estimate $1-$2). Size is the main reason, but the extra bulk would be very small so I don't see how they justified this decision.
PeachNCream - Friday, September 7, 2018 - link
Maybe it wouldn't have been as elegant-o with a second USB port. Elegant? Um...el gato...as feline? I dunno. Corsair, your branding is stupid. Fix it.AdditionalPylons - Friday, September 7, 2018 - link
Elgato has been around since 2002 and was just recently (June 2018) bought by Corsair. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgato(While I get that it means "the cat" in Spanish I find the name alright and has no particular connotation, but I'm Swedish. Funny note: Despite the name it's actually a German company.)
PeachNCream - Friday, September 7, 2018 - link
It doesn't make it okay that something has been stupid since 2002. That actually makes it worse that nobody bothered to pay any attention it for the past 16 years. At least Corsair now has a chance to resolve it by rebranding the product line.PeachNCream - Thursday, September 6, 2018 - link
Eh, laptops generally lack a useful number of expansion ports so something like this can somewhat address the problem. I do think it could stand for two USB ports though. Maybe shed the display port and add a second USB instead. Everything has HDMI, but DP is a sort of awkward, uncommon standard that came out between DVI and HDMI.Fairshare - Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - link
HDMI has been around longer than DisplayPort...lurker22 - Thursday, September 6, 2018 - link
Strange decision to provide both Display Port and HDMI. Rather it provide one or the other with a 2nd USB A port.Schmov17 - Thursday, September 6, 2018 - link
Do they specify if the dock can support dual display out through both HDMI and DP simultaneously? One of the big issues I've seen with macOS and USB-C/Thunderbolt docks is that, while the dock has multiple video out ports, only a single video out is supported at a time. IMO, this detail is often glossed over but makes a considerable difference in weighing the benefits of one dock vs another.